Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $146.14.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LGND. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND stock traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 38,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,843. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $85.18 and a twelve month high of $129.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $108.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.00 and a beta of 0.84.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 73.07% and a negative return on equity of 7.83%. The firm had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 9,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $105.20 per share, with a total value of $1,000,452.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 161,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,961,816.80. This trade represents a 6.27% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza acquired 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $104.06 per share, with a total value of $156,090.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,906,603.92. This trade represents a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,000 shares of company stock valued at $218,310. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 9,384 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.